Clayton Kershaw’s Best Start Ever Leads Group Effort
May 29, 2011 at 12:48 pm | Posted in Clayton Kershaw, Josh Lindblom, Kenley Jansen, Travis Schlichting | 30 Comments
Earlier this afternoon, I attended the Phillies/Mets game at CitiField, where Philadelphia starter Vance Worley lasted just three innings, allowing twelve hits and eight runs (five earned) in that time. In person, it was even worse than that; even the outs he was getting were hit hard. Who knew that it wouldn’t be close to being the worst starting pitching performance I’d see today?
The Dodgers saw to that by finally breaking out of their long offensive slump and pounding Florida starter Ricky Nolasco for fifteen hits and eight runs in five innings of work. The fifteen hits were the most by the Dodgers against any starting pitcher since 1982, and are the most allowed by a starting pitcher in Marlins history. Overall, they collected seventeen hits, their most since doing the same last May against Arizona.
In my mind, far more impressive than the group output – though that was badly, badly needed – is the fact that much of it came from names we haven’t seen contribute much this year. Rafael Furcal, Andre Ethier, and Jay Gibbons all had three hits, with Furcal starting off the scoring by hitting his first homer of the year in the bottom of the third. The value of Furcal at the top of this lineup can’t be understated – I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but the team scores approximately 47 more runs per game with him in than without him since he’s arrived – and his day is all the more welcome considering what a slow start he’d been off to since returning from injury. Gibbons, who had contributed barely anything all year, finally made some sort of case with his roster spot with his three hits, though he did misplay a flyout to left into a double on Clayton Kershaw‘s ledger. The breakout from Ethier counts as a new contribution as well, since he was hitting just .228/.315/.316 in May coming into today’s game. With Matt Kemp getting ejected (along with Don Mattingly) for arguing balls and strikes in the 4th inning and early-season star Jamey Carroll‘s last hit now a week in his rear-view mirror, the offense from some unexpected sources was absolutely vital.
But it didn’t stop there. Casey Blake had two hits, Dioner Navarro had two… and so did Kershaw, whose pitching performance absolutely should not get lost in the offensive outburst, though it probably will. It figures that on a day where the Dodgers finally break out the bats, they almost didn’t need to, because Kershaw was dominant. The line says he allowed two hits and issued a walk, which combined with ten strikeouts over nine shutout innings is fantastic enough, but even that’s not enough praise; Logan Morrison‘s double should have been a simple out, but dropped thanks to swirling winds in left field that Gibbons couldn’t handle.
Of Kershaw’s eight innings, he set down the Marlins 1-2-3 in five of them. Not once did the Marlins bring more than four men to the plate in an inning, and the only inning they even put more than one batter on base – the 7th – it was hardly Kershaw’s fault, as that was when Gibbons and Furcal each misplayed balls caught in the wind to left field.
This was Kershaw’s second career shutout, and as far as Game Score goes, it was his most dominating performance yet. His score for today was 92, and as you can see from his list heading into today, that puts this squarely at the top. It’s also the second time this season that Kershaw has rewritten his “top five greatest hits” list:
| Rk | Date | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | GSc | 2B | 3B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010-05-09 | COL | W 2-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 117 | 84 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2010-09-14 | SFG | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 83 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 2009-04-15 | SFG | W 5-4 | GS-7 | 7.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 105 | 83 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 2009-08-08 | ATL | L 1-2 | GS-7 | 7.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 103 | 82 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 2011-05-13 | ARI | W 4-3 | GS-7 ,W | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 106 | 80 | 2 | 0 |
Earlier today, Kershaw was tied for fifth on the baseball-reference pitcher NL WAR scoreboard with Jair Jurrjens and Ian Kennedy, just behind the injured Josh Johnson. This game ought to be enough to push him at least into third and possibly into second when b-r refreshes their standings overnight. With Kemp tied for the lead with Ryan Braun and Joey Votto on the batting side, that gives the Dodgers one of the most valuable duos in baseball leading their club.
All season long, we’ve worried that their production would be wasted by a supporting cast that just wasn’t up to the job. For one day, at least, this was a team-wide effort, and a great way to spend a holiday weekend.
******
The big news of the day, of course, was that Josh Lindblom was finally called up to the big club, with Kenley Jansen placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation. I say “finally”, because Lindblom was seemingly on the verge of making his debut as far back as spring of 2009. He just missed the cut, and when the club tried to turn him into a starter in the minors, it backfired terribly, leading to last year’s troubling AAA campaign where he allowed 13.5 hits per nine and ended with a 6.54 ERA in 40 games (10 starts). Back in AA this year and strictly as a reliever, he’s been striking out 12.2/9 and cutting down on the hits. Though it’s nice to see Lindblom finally make it, this is another blow to the bullpen, as Jansen had put together ten scoreless consecutive outings (and an 18/5 K/BB) before being touched in each of his last two.
It seems clear that the Dodgers are massively unimpressed by both the talent and environment in Albuquerque, at least when it comes to pitching prospects. Lindblom is now the third consecutive call-up to come from Chattanooga, following Javy Guerra and Rubby De La Rosa, and that’s where Jansen was sent when he was briefly demoted earlier this year as well.
Initially I was mildly bothered that Schlichting was DFA’d, since he’d shown flashes in his brief times up, but after checking the 40-man roster, it’s really a move that was unavoidable. Since the Dodgers have six players on the 15-man DL, and no obvious candidates to be moved to the 60-day DL, the 40-man roster is in a tight squeeze. Schlichting had been brutal in AAA this year anyway, walking more than he’d struck out with a high HR/9 rate. It’s probably likely that he doesn’t get claimed on waivers regardless, and it’s the right choice.
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This was definitely a much needed win.
Comment by Justin— May 29, 2011 #
This game was great. It was amazing to watch Kershaw hit Navarro’s glove as if Navarro couldn’t move. He was getting two quick strikes with fastballs, and Kershaw is easily one of the hardest pitchers to face with two strikes.
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Watching Gibbons play in the outfield is like watching an earthquake happening. He constantly steps around because he’s never really sure where the ball is going to come down. I’m sure the one he missed was tough because of the wind, but damn, he doesn’t have to look like a dog chasing his tail. On that note, watching Gwynn field is just as fun as watching Gibbons field is painful. I’m still totally convinced Gwynn is a very valuable acquisition.
Comment by Bip— May 29, 2011 #
Blind Circuitous Ginger Bastard (but at least his bat is waking up)
Comment by The Dude Abides— May 29, 2011 #
Rather see Sands play LF and Gibbie playing 1b
Comment by Jaydavis— May 29, 2011 #
Or Sands playing 1B and Gwynn in LF, Gibbons isn’t going to be Manny 2008 so why do they keep trotting him out there
Comment by DodgersKings323— May 29, 2011 #
It’s the Dodgers. They don’t need logic behind what they do.
Comment by Gregory Zakwin— May 29, 2011 #
LOL
Comment by Jaydavis— May 30, 2011 #
Yeah, I wondered why they didn’t just do that. Why put the worse fielder at the more important position, especially against a lefty flyball pitcher.
Comment by Bip— May 29, 2011 #
After today, Kershaw has a higher average than Loney. Just saying.
Comment by Danny— May 29, 2011 #
Please, the fish had a bad day. When Gibbie has 3 hits make you wonder
Comment by Jaydavis— May 29, 2011 #
C’mon man, don’t minimize Kershaw’s dominance.
Comment by Jeff— May 29, 2011 #
What does their bad pitching performance have to do with their bad hitting performance?
Comment by Bip— May 29, 2011 #
Why was Loney out against the right hander? I know, I know but still why out today?
Comment by DAVID S— May 29, 2011 #
Small sample size, but Donny mentioned that James was 0-6 vs Nolasco, and it was a scheduled rest day as well.
Comment by The Dude Abides— May 29, 2011 #
Just be happy Donnie found an excuse to pull um out of the lineup :P
Comment by DodgersKings323— May 29, 2011 #
There is nothing much left in the Isotopes’ bullpen. I think Link can turn things around; he’s got a couple saves in the last few days, though (as usual) he made things interesting in the 9th today by allowing 3 consecutive two-out singles that cut the lead to one run before getting a flyball out to end it.
As for Schlichting, he’s pretty much a train wreck. Every time they ask him to go more than one inning he implodes. Even his first inning tends to be shaky. Walks are killing him (along with the rest of the staff); the problem is now look at the other names in the Topes’ pen:
Merkin Valdez (the primary victim of that 10-run inning by the Sky Sox last homestand), Francisco Felix (Mexican League veteran), Roman Colon (on the DL till July with a broken foot), Randy Keisler (horrible in 3 starts before being moved to the ‘pen), Adam Dedeaux (played in the AZL last year), Mario Alvarez (hasn’t looked too bad, but he’s been in AA since the dawn of time), plus Schlichting and Link. It’s not exactly the bullpen PCL championships are made of.
Thank the baseball gods they can hit. Most of the time.
Comment by Chris Jackson— May 29, 2011 #
The big concern is the big-league club. The Dodgers promote (and demote) most of their pitchers from and to AA Chattanooga rather than AAA Albuquerque, especially relievers. This year, Rubby, Kenley, Javy, and Josh have all gone that route, and if they need another, it might be Cole St. Clair, who’s also with the Lookouts. The only pitcher that has come up from Albuquerque is Ely, as a starter.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 30, 2011 #
Troncoso, too.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— May 30, 2011 #
Oh yeah, Tron too. But I think he’s the only reliever.
Comment by nsxtasy— May 30, 2011 #
Elbert was with the Topes before he got called up, FYI. I agree that it seems as though the Dodgers are doing most of their moves involving Chattanooga, but that’s in part due to the struggles of Link and Schlichting. If those two were pitching better, I can almost guarantee you that they would have been called up before De La Rosa/Lindblom/Guerra. It’s mainly coming down to performance; none of the Topes’ relievers were worthy of jumping on (or staying on) the 40-man roster. I do not get the impression the Dodgers are afraid to send pitchers here to ABQ, it’s just an issue of desperation at this point with all the injuries. They have had to go further down in the system than they would have liked. Ned really did not want to call up De La Rosa or Guerra this soon, but matters in LA and ABQ have forced his hand. But you might be right, St. Clair probably is next on the list, unless Link can show he’s turning things around. Let us hope for the Dodgers they don’t get to that point, but the way this season has been going…
Comment by Chris Jackson— May 30, 2011 #
My boycott continues. I check the Dodger scores/games only in passing. It feels great, ofcourse I have never been one to look at car crashes on the freeway either while I am pasing them. I just say a prayer and move on.
I hate band wagon fans but I can’t give McCourt any more money. Those empty seats you see……….that’s me.
Comment by Mark— May 30, 2011 #
None of us like McCourt either, but Kemp, Kershaw, and Carroll represent our Dodgers. Those are the people who I chose to follow, and hopefully they will be here after McCourt is long gone.
Comment by john— May 30, 2011 #
You can still watch it on TV.
Comment by Bip— May 30, 2011 #
You can also go to away games!
Comment by nsxtasy— May 31, 2011 #
Okay, I don’t want to jump the gun but can the dodgers sweep AZ and take first place?
Comment by Jaydavis— May 30, 2011 #
I don’t want to jump the gun either, but is James Loney seriously turning things around?
Comment by john— May 30, 2011 #
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